The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) announced 210 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday — another single-day record since the agency started tracking the pandemic.
According to the latest numbers, there are now 1,293 total COVID-19 cases in 43 counties after 210 were reported on Wednesday. Although, we have frequently pointed out the numbers released by SCDHEC do not represent a complete picture of the spread of the virus in the Palmetto State.
Not all data from private labs is included, and SCDHEC has acknowledged that supply shortages have severely limited its testing capabilities. Also, not everyone experiencing potential coronavirus symptoms is getting testing – and beyond that, we keep hearing from many South Carolinians who believe they had the virus long before the government began tracking cases.
DHEC also announced four additional deaths, bringing the state’s total to 26. All four patients were “elderly individuals who also had underlying health conditions.” They were from Anderson, Beaufort Lee, and Richland counties. SCDHEC has not provided any further information on the individuals who passed away.
“Every day that we unfortunately have to report these losses is a reminder of how serious this situation is and the obligation we all have to help prevent the loss of additional South Carolinians,” Dr. Brannon Traxler, DHEC medical consultant, said in the press release. “Social distancing and staying home can help save lives.”
SCDHEC officials noted for days they lacked testing supplies and had a backlog of more than 1,000 tests to go through on Friday. Over the weekend, officials reported that they received a shipment of testing supplies.
According to SCHEC’s projections, the state should have a total of 1,573 coronavirus cases by the end of the week and 8,053 cases by May 2 — although those numbers are subject to change.
5,033 people have tested negative for coronavirus in South Carolina.
Here is a look at SCDHEC’s latest heat map, which shows the hot spots in the state.
Charleston County — the state’s third most populous county — remains the epicenter for the pandemic in the Palmetto State with 190 cases. Richland County — the second most populous county — also is the No. 2 county for coronavirus cases with 176 cases.
Kershaw County — a much smaller county that was ground zero for the illness in South Carolina — has 116 cases.
Here are the counties that reported positive cases on Sunday:
- Aiken County: 5 cases
- Allendale County: 1 case
- Anderson County: 8 cases
- Bamberg County: 2 cases
- Barnwell County: 1 case
- Beaufort County: 10 cases
- Berkeley County: 3 cases
- Charleston County: 48 cases
- Chester County: 1 case
- Chesterfield County: 3 cases
- Clarendon County: 3 cases
- Dorchester County: 10 cases
- Edgefield County: 2 cases
- Fairfield County: 1 case
- Florence County: 2 cases
- Georgetown County: 1 case
- Greenville County: 23 cases
- Greenwood County: 1 case
- Horry County: 5 cases
- Jasper County: 1 case
- Kershaw County: 11 cases
- Lancaster County: 2 cases
- Laurens County: 1 case
- Lexington County: 7 cases
- Orangeburg County: 2 cases
- Richland County: 28 cases
- Spartanburg County: 8 cases
- Sumter County: 9 cases
- Williamsburg County: 1 case
- York County: 10 cases
As we reported earlier this week, South Carolina ranked No. 48 out of fifty states when it came to the true number of citizens getting tested, according to a new “viral database” – CovidTracking.com – as of Sunday afternoon South Carolina.
According to the data, for every 100,000 South Carolina residents only 75 have been tested for the virus. Only two states – Oklahoma (40 tests per 100,000 residents) and Delaware (27 tests per 100,000) – featured lower testing levels than the Palmetto State.
New Data
SCDHEC released new data on Wednesday that tells us a little more about the state’s first 1,293 patients. The average coronavirus patient in SC is 50 years old. A baby less than a month old is the state’s youngest case, while a 100-year-old patient is the oldest person in the state to test positive for coronavirus.
51 percent of South Carolina’s first 1,293 cases were patients over 51 years old, while 45 percent were people between 21-50 and 6 percent were kids under 20 years old.
For the first South Carolina coronavirus cases, 27 percent were hospitalized at the time of the reported illness, according to SCDHEC’s data.
South Carolina governor Henry McMaster – under growing pressure from members of his own party – announced yesterday that his administration was issuing a shutdown order for non-essential businesses in the state.
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